Weblogism

Do You Want us to do the (Bloody) Job?

You sometimes wonder if you really are in a civilized world, especially when you hear about offers such as the IRA made – that is, shoot the people who killed McCartney. And saying that it is “extraordinary and horrific” to quote the Taoiseach doesn’t even start to describe it.

Why such a statement? The first reason would probably provocation. The IRA are pretty fidgety at the moment, and that is an excellent opportunity to remind the world they are still around – and still have their guns. It is also probably to point out to the rank-and-file members that there are still “rules” to be followed: members of the IRA may indeed be connected to the murder and this cannot be accepted by the authority. It could be a warning to the others to remember what the rules are.

Another reason might be that the calls on the killers to hand themselves in didn’t succeed. And by scaring them, the IRA show that they are bloody serious. Go to the police or we do the job ourselves.

That being said, what are the consequences for the Peace process? It looks like the latest developments show that the IRA don’t give a damn about it, boasting about having weapons (and keeping them), using them for dark operations… The Peace is certainly not on its way and that’s far from being good news.